Catamenial tampons are typically inserted into a vagina of a woman to absorb menstrual discharges during menstruation. It is desirable that a tampon provide leakage protection, that is, the tampon should prevent menstrual discharges from leaking out of the body, for example, onto an undergarment, when the tampon is in use.
In order to facilitate selection of the proper tampon for optimum leakage protection, tampons are categorized by absorbency. Absorbency is generally regulated and publicized so that women can select a tampon with appropriate absorbency corresponding to their expected menstrual flow level. Women often experience unexpected leakage, however, even though they believe they have chosen the correct tampon. In some cases, the unexpected leakage can be classified as “early failure” of the tampon because it occurs before the absorbency of the tampon is fully utilized. Such leakage is undesirable because it results in unpredictable protection along with anxiety about leakage.
It is believed that early failure can be primarily associated with ineffective interception of the menstrual discharge, such as, for example, when the tampon is misplaced within the vagina. The vagina is composed of a highly deformable soft tissue that ends at the cervix, which is composed of stiff, muscular tissue. Currently available tampons have a symmetrically formed insertion end. The stiff cervix in the center of the vagina can deflect such a tampon to the sides of the vagina, which can deform to provide a space for the tampon more easily than the area near the cervix. When a tampon is deflected to the side of the vagina, at least a portion of the tampon may be no longer available in the flow path of the menstrual discharge from the cervix. Thus, some of the menstrual discharge can bypass the tampon and leakage can occur.
In addition, the deflection of the tampon during insertion of the tampon into the vagina can cause the user to feel resistance or push-back during the insertion and can cause discomfort to the user and a lack of confidence in insertion.
As such, it would be desirable to provide a more reliable tampon that provides increased leakage protection. It would also be desirable to provide a tampon that provides improved comfort and confidence during insertion.